This invention relates generally to devices for viewing from vehicles such as personnel carriers, trucks, or the like designed to operate in all terrain conditions. The invention is more particularly concerned with video camera and viewing screen systems which can provide a driver or other vehicle operator a view of the terrain conditions underneath the vehicle.
Conventionally, the vehicle operator of personnel carriers, trucks, or the like vehicles designed to operate in all terrain conditions must be able to maneuver the vehicle over large obstacles like boulders. To accomplish this, the operator must be able to accurately place the wheels of the vehicle upon the obstacle to achieve maximum ground clearance and avoid being hung-up. With smaller all terrain vehicles and considerable experience the operator can accomplish this. However as vehicles get larger and the terrain gets more hazardous with other distractions, such as in combat situations, the operator can have a difficult time navigating the hostile terrain. Such vehicles must operate in multiple theaters such as high speed travel over open dirt fields and sandy terrain and often muddy conditions. During such high speed travel there is lots of debris thrown against the underside of the vehicle. Other times there is extreme mountains terrain where large obstacles are encountered and travel is slow and extreme attention must be played to the terrain traversed. In these latter conditions a second pair of eyes is often needed external to the vehicle to assist the operator. In hostile environments where there may be enemy fire this is an unacceptable solution. Also in combat situations the vehicle can be subject to explosions and weapons fire.
A number of proposals have appeared in recent times for supplementing a vehicle operator's view by use of a video camera mounted somewhere on the vehicle. These have generally involved mounting video cameras in box-like housings carried on arms that project from the vehicle. Typical of these are the arrangements described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,027,200; 4,910,591; and 3,689,695. A camera arrangement for guiding a tractor or other farm vehicle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,814. U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,416 discloses a system and method for cleaning an optical device in a hostile environment. A camera system is mounted in a protective mounting structure which may be unitary or comprise layers of material. The camera lens is covered by a scratch resistant cover and is cleaned by user operated bursts of air when debris obstructs the view of the camera. These previous proposals do not suggest a solution to the problems encountered by a vehicle in the above stated hostile environments.
A company, Total Vision Products, LLC 625 W. Plata Street Tucson, Ariz. 85705 has developed a camera system for off road vehicles that permits the operator to view the placement of his wheels on obstacles for proper traversing of harsh terrain. This system places multiple cameras underneath the vehicle in view of the wheel locations. The driver is than provided with screens to view the terrain underneath the vehicle. This system does not solve the problems of being able to protect the cameras and operate a vehicle where high speed travel is required over harsh terrain and exposure to combat situations while being able to deploy the camera to view the wheel placement during traversing large obstacles and still providing protection.